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HUNTER VALLEY
HUNTER VALLEY
Happy Valley
THE HUNTER VALLEY IS SET TO ENJOY THE FRUITS OF ITS LABOUR AFTER AN EXCEPTIONAL
2014 VINTAGE. CHRISTINE SALINS REPORTS.
Tulloch’s members lounge.
Cockfighter’s Ghost cellar door.
McGuigan Wines.
Tulloch’s cellar door.
Bruce Tyrrell.
22 | MARCH 2015 NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS
W
hile the 2015 vintage has been giving Hunter
Valley winemakers a few headaches, the
2014 vintage has been hailed as the vintage
of a generation.
“We are now just releasing some of the whites and
pinks from the 2014 vintage and receiving fantastic
feedback from trade, media and consumers,” said Rohan
Beale, sales and marketing manager for Agnew Wines.
“It’s a great time for us to be out in the market as we are
really proud of these wines and excited about selling such
a great vintage.”
Beale said the last 12 months had seen Agnew’s three
brands, Audrey Wilkinson, Cockfighter’s Ghost and
Poole’s Rock Wines, go from strength to strength, with
not only growth in sales, but also consumers trading up
in price.
“In the retail market, whilst we’ve seen a decline in
the historical large buying periods, we’ve seen a more
consistent growth in sales throughout the rest of the
year and a total growth in retail sales,” Beale said. “In
particular, we’ve seen premium Chardonnay experience
the greatest growth, with Chardonnay being our most
popular wine across the brands of Cockfighter’s Ghost,
Audrey Wilkinson and Poole’s Rock, all of which are
stylistically very different.”
Agnew is about to roll out its trophy-winning 2010
Poole’s Rock Chardonnay, along with others in its Poole’s
Rock range – the 2011 Pinot Noir, 2011 Shiraz and 2011
Semillon. Its ‘scratch & win’ Christmas promotion, which
encouraged consumers to bundle wines across its brands
and instantly win prizes in store, had a fantastic response
and Beale said it would be adapted for a broader market
leading up to Easter and beyond.
“Most of our new business comes from consumers
visiting our cellar doors and then when they return
home looking for us in their local restaurants, bars and
bottleshops,” Beale said. Agnew’s marketing was focused
on engaging directly with these customers through social
media, direct mailouts and advertising in wine and
lifestyle publications.
One of Agnew’s biggest undertakings was to include
all gold medals and Halliday scores of 90-plus on its
retail wines. This exercise, although extensive, has paid
dividends. “We are now seeing a trade-up from the New
Zealand Sauvignon Blanc market as consumers’ palates
become more sophisticated. However, they still need
direction as to what styles and brands to buy, and gold
medals or third-party endorsements play a strong role in
consumer choice,” Beale said.
Agnew fosters relationships by hosting retailers at
its winery, cellar doors and guest cottages. It recently
hosted retail groups from Victoria, Queensland and New
South Wales, who helped work on the 2015 vintage. “In
addition to a great time in the Hunter, they also gained
great insight into winemaking, and they can now say that
they were a part of making the wines, a fantastic selling
point at store level for us and the retailers.”
Adding to the learning curve, no doubt, was the fact
that the 2015 vintage has been a tough one. “Some nights
we would have a month’s worth of rain in 12 hours,”
said Agnew’s chief winemaker, Jeff Byrne. “Nevertheless,
weather is an ever-present challenge in the Hunter and the
team are experienced in dealing with Mother Nature. The
outlook is good for our whites, in particular Chardonnay
and Semillon, which are now safely in the winery and are
looking really good, whilst with the reds, the older vines,
particularly Shiraz and Tempranillo, seem to be holding
up the best.”
Bruce Tyrrell said that while there had been doom and
gloom in the district about the weather, and reds could be
in trouble if the rain continued, Tyrrell’s had a cellar full
of very good 2015 Chardonnay. One lot had already been
earmarked for Vat 47 and was “about as good as it gets”.
Across its ranges, Tyrrell’s is maturing its wine in 2500
litre barrels of new or near-new wood, allowing it to
achieve a greater balance in its wines, with less of an oak
character and more freshness.
But he said, “winemaking is not about innovation, it’s
about getting it right in the vineyard”, and Hunter Shiraz
in particular was thriving because of work done in the
vineyards. “The price of Shiraz grapes has gone up 50 per
cent in the last six years,” Tyrrell said.
He attributed much of the turnaround to Andrew
Thomas, chair of the Hunter Valley Wine Industry
Association technical sub-committee.
“Thomas went on a crusade to clean up the Hunter,”
Tyrrell said, referring to the Brettanomyces character that
had often plagued Hunter wines prior to that. “He pretty
much did it. They’re all clean now. I think the reds are
better than they’ve ever been.”
Hunter Shiraz is generally medium-bodied with a savoury,
earthy flavour – most famously described as “sweaty
“It’s a great
time for us
to be out in
the market
as we are
really proud
of these
wines and
excited
about
selling such
a great
vintage.”
- Rohan Beale,
sales and marketing
manager, Agnew Wines.
NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS MARCH 2015 | 23
HUNTER VALLEY
When you’re 120 years old, a picture is worth a thousand words
Lindeman’s cellar door and winery.
CELLARING POTENTIAL
OF HUNTER FLAGSHIPS
Shiraz and Semillon are quintessentially Hunter Valley, and provide
both short and long-term cellaring options. Here are some that are
worth putting away:
TYRRELL’S VAT 1 HUNTER SEMILLON
Tyrrell’s Vat 1 is the inaugural Hunter Valley Wine Show – Wine of
Provenance, first made in 1962 from Semillon vines planted as
early as 1923. The Hunter Valley is world-renowned for its great
dry Semillon, generally around 11 per cent alcohol and produced
with virtually no winemaker intervention. Bruce Tyrrell sees them as
wines with three lives. “Firstly, when very young, citrusy and fresh;
secondly, at five to 10 years old when bottled-aged characters start
to appear; and thirdly, when they get the magnificent richness and
fullness of serious bottle age.”
TYRRELL’S VAT 9 HUNTER SHIRAZ
The hallmark red variety of the Hunter Valley, the oldest vines for this
wine go back to 1892 and the youngest to 1968. Says Bruce Tyrrell:
“Hunter Shiraz, in general, is medium-bodied and savoury with its
base in fruit and acid. The stages of aging are similar to the Semillon.
Today, Vat 9 is matured in new oak but the barrels are 2700 litres in
capacity, adding some freshness and lift. The best of these wines,
like the Semillons, can live in advance of 30 years.”
2011 POOLE’S ROCK HUNTER VALLEY
SHIRAZ
From the Post Office Block on the Poole’s Rock Estate, many of the
vines are over 100 years old and represent some of the oldest Shiraz
vines in the Hunter Valley. James Halliday described it in his 2015
Wine Companion as “a classic Hunter Valley Shiraz, underlining
once again just how good the 2011 vintage was. Its red and black
fruits, tinged with earth and leather, and fine, ripe tannins, make the
wine complex now, yet it has an indefinite future”. Can be enjoyed
now or cellared until 2040. RRP $50.
2014 AUDREY WILKINSON SERIES
SEMILLON
This vibrant young wine with citrus and green apple notes comes
from one of the oldest vineyards in the Hunter Valley. Chief
winemaker Jeff Byrne says it could be cellared for 15 years and over
this time “will start to develop toasty lanolin characters whilst still
exhibiting delicate citrus qualities”. Can be enjoyed now as a crisp
refreshing summer drink, or until 2029 as a complex food matching
wine. RRP $22.
CELLARING TIP FROM JEFF BYRNE
Cellaring tip from Jeff Byrne, chief winemaker Agnew Wines: “Each
individual enjoys wine at different stages of cellaring – young and
fresh or older, mature flavours – so just because you’re told a wine
can cellar 10 to 20 years doesn’t mean it will taste its best then. So
buy a few at a time and keep trying them periodically. When they hit
that sweet spot, enjoy the rest then.”
24 | MARCH 2015 NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS
saddles”. The best examples tend to
be lower in alcohol and less reliant
on tannins, and Tyrrell sees it as an
advantage that “we get our flavours
early on”.
“One of the jobs of wine is to
leave your palate fresh and clean
for the next mouthful, not to
bombard it. With most Hunter
reds around 13 to 13.5 per cent
alcohol, people can drink a bottle
and enjoy it. There’s a big chunk
of people aged from 55 to 75, me
included, who can’t drink really
big reds, and that’s a huge part of
the population with a fair bit of
disposable income.”
Tyrrell said demand for Hunter
Shiraz had increased across the
retail market. “A lot of it is
on-premise, particularly in New
South Wales. There’s more of this
local produce, local story, and
we’re getting some of that ground
back as a result.”
It also helped being a familyowned company, he said. The
First Families of Wine collective
had been a great marketing
tool for Tyrrell’s, particularly in
Europe and the UK. “There’s not
that many dud wines about, and
you’ve got to have a story to set
yourself apart.”
With the internet, “everyone’s
prices are instantly accessible to
everyone and you can end up with
a race to the bottom”. Tyrrell’s
has addressed this by making
particular ranges for particular
retailers, so their margins were
guaranteed. Its Hunter Heroes
range was sold exclusively through
Dan Murphy’s and Woolworths,
while its Lost Block range was
sold through independent retailers,
not in Coles or Woolworths.
Independent retailers don’t
want to kill off brands, Tyrrell
said. “They want a proper
Tyrrell’s product that’s exclusive
to them. We’ve been doing a fair
bit of bundle buying such as two
for $20 or three for $30 over the
last eight months and it seems to
be pretty successful so we’ll keep
doing that.”
Tyrrell said it used to be that a
bottleshop employee would fall
in love with a particular wine and
tell 200 of his customers about
it. “There were all these little
circles of excitement. That’s not
there in retail anymore. I think
the message to retailers is to stop
discounting the box and start
selling what’s in the bottle. There’s
way too much time spent talking
about price.”
Tyrrell is heartened by the fact
that more and more people are
bottle-ageing Semillon, and he is
delighted that Tyrrell’s flagship
Vat 1 Semillon is close to going
on allocation. He is also thrilled
with his 2014 reds, which he
believes to be the best since 1965.
“Right across the Hunter, it was
sensational for reds.”
Gwyn Olsen, general manager
and chief winemaker for Briar
Ridge, would second that. Olsen,
crowned Gourmet Traveller
Wine’s Young Winemaker of the
Year in September, is on a mission
to restore Briar Ridge to the status
it enjoyed in the 1970s and 80s.
She is looking forward to some
exceptional reds from the 2014
vintage and has already released
Proudly Distributed by Vintage House Wine & Spirits For enquiries: 1300 769 266 Tulloch Wines: 02 4998 7580 [email protected] www.tullochwines.com The Hunter has become
HUNTER VALLEY
Harvest at Tyrrell’s.
Another
brand paying
homage
to the
past while
keeping an
eye on the
future is
Lindeman’s.
three exciting Semillons with a quintessential Hunter
Valley character.
“I am passionate about expressing a true ‘sense of
place’ in the wines,” said Olsen, whose 2014 Single
Vineyard Dairy Hill Semillon (RRP $35) is poised
and elegant with great length and finesee. The 2014
Signature Karl Stockhausen Semillon (RRP $28), made
in conjunction with Hunter Valley Living Legend, Karl
Stockhausen, typifies old-style Hunter Valley winemaking
and is fuller and richer in style. The 2014 Early Harvest
Semillon (RRP $22), is crisp and fresh with tropical fruit
notes, and is designed to drink now.
At the same time as she is seeking to re-establish
historic links, Olsen is experimenting with progressive
techniques, as evidenced by two other wines released
late last year. The Briar 2014 Vineyard Blend (RRP $28)
was a mish-mash of Semillon, Verdelho, Chardonnay,
Vermentino and Sauvignon Blanc, all off the one
“dyslexic” block, and it translated surprisingly well into
an attractive wine with good acidity and length. The 2013
Briar Ridge H.R.B (RRP $60) is a bright and elegant
blend of Shiraz and Pinot Noir, intended to pay homage
to the Hunter River Burgundy style of the past.
Another brand paying homage to the past while
keeping an eye on the future is Lindeman’s, which also
reports an exceptional vintage in 2014 while expressing
concern about 2015. Lindeman’s premium winemaker,
Brett Sharpe, said everyone who makes wine in the
Hunter Valley knows it’s a fickle region.
“Come vintage time, anything can happen, so the
region’s winemakers and viticulturists are familiar with
responding to changing conditions. This year is proving
to be one of those vintages, with ongoing rain combined
with warm, humid conditions,” he said.
“We have picked our Semillon, making sure we are
selective with hand-picking to get the best quality fruit.
These wines will make a refreshing style of Semillon, the
delicate ripe fruit flavours balanced by austere acidity and
a lower-alcohol style that is typical of Hunter Valley.”
At the time of writing, Lindeman’s had not yet
picked its reds. “We are fortunate that 2014 was such
an outstanding vintage which has yielded appropriate
26 | MARCH 2015 NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS
volumes of exceptional quality, that will enable us to
accommodate a smaller 2015 vintage, if that is the case,”
Sharpe said.
Lindeman’s marketing manager, Tasha Harp, said
2014 had the hallmark characters to be revered alongside
outstanding Hunter Valley vintages such as 1959 and 1965.
“The 2014 vintage will be remembered for decades as
the year everything went right,” she said. “It produced
exceptional fruit at strong yields and the winemaking team
have put aside the very best parcels for our 2014 Hunter
Valley Reserve Shiraz, to be released in years to come.”
Lindeman’s latest Hunter releases – the 2014 Bin 1455
Semillon, 2013 Bin 1303 Shiraz and 2013 Bin 1300
Reserve Shiraz – feature new packaging and branding that
reflects Lindeman’s “history, heritage, craftsmanship and
authenticity”. It is now eagerly anticipating the release of
its 2014 reds.
Harp said there was strong consumer awareness of
the Hunter Valley and its modern, refreshing wine styles
provided some great alternatives to popular styles and
varieties. “The crisp and refreshing style of Hunter Valley
Semillon is a great substitute for Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot
Grigio, and the savoury style of Shiraz is a lovely, more
subtle, medium-bodied alternative when a big, heavy red
is not appropriate.”
Brokenwood managing director and chief winemaker,
Iain Riggs, said there had never been a “normal” vintage
for the Hunter Valley. “If the wet vintage of 2012 was
under a strong La Nina influence, we are back to a very
strong El Nino weather pattern at present and have been
since mid-2014.”
Nevertheless, he said, early flavours in the 2015
Semillon, Chardonnay and Shiraz were excellent. At the
time of writing, Brokenwood had just released its 2014
Brokenwood Semillon (RRP $25), 2013 Oakey Creek
Semillon (RRP $40) and 2009 Latara Vineyard Semillon
(RRP $55). It was soon to release its 2013 Verona
Jay Tulloch.
The HUNTED.
This is why.
See what all the
buzz is about.
HUNTER VALLEY
3 Brands. 48 Trophies. 1,358 Medals.
Tulloch turns 120 this year.
McGuigan’s barrell hall.
Audrey Wilkinson vineyard.
“Consumers
want wines
that tell a
story and
that are
distinctive in
their regional
style and that
are made by
real people.”
- Andrew Margan,
Winemaker, Tyrrells.
Vineyard Shiraz, which won top gold at the 2014 Hunter
Valley Wine Show, and its 2013 Mistress Block Vineyard
Shiraz, which won a trophy at the same show.
Like Tyrrell’s, Margan Wines is experiencing increased
demand for its aged Semillon. Indeed, across the Margan
brand, sales have grown by six per cent over the past
year, a combination of on and off-premise with particular
growth in the New South Wales market. Semillon,
Chardonnay and Shiraz have been the main drivers.
Winemaker Andrew Margan was busy picking at the time
of writing, stopping just long enough to say that “so far the
whites are great and the reds are unsure”. He also revealed
that 2015 would see a virtual re-invention of the Margan
brand, with new ranges and wines launched specifically for
different channels of the domestic market. “Consumers want
wines that tell a story and that are distinctive in their regional
style and that are made by real people,” Margan said.
McGuigan Wines’ BIN series underwent a makeover
in September. The seven-strong line-up (RRP $12.99)
is exclusive to independent retailers and includes a
Verdelho, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Semillon,
Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon from vineyards
in the Hunter Valley and broader New South Wales and
South Australian regions.
“The BIN series wines are varietally intense,
flavoursome and always over-deliver on the price point,
but our research showed it was time for a packaging
evolution,” said chief winemaker, Neil McGuigan. “This,
coupled with the fact the $8 to $15 wine price segment
is the largest by volume in Australia, meant we really
needed to ramp up our look in order to capitalise on an
existing and captive audience.”
Most of Tulloch Wines’ promotional activities this
28 | MARCH 2015 NATIONAL LIQUOR NEWS
year will be focused on events celebrating its 120th
anniversary, although Christina Tulloch said they
would continue to support “on-premise, independent
retailers and national accounts with promotional dollars
throughout the year”.
“We have our #vivaverdelho social media campaign
running at the moment which is aimed at driving
customers in store to purchase Tulloch Verdelho. We’ve
also just kicked off our promotion to help us locate some
older vintages of our wines for use in the 120th flagship
event we have planned in May.”
The flagship event will include a retrospective tasting
of Tulloch’s Private Bin Pokolbin Dry Red from 1952
to 2014 and its Hector Limited Release Shiraz from
1996 to 2014. Tulloch is seeking back vintages of
any of its wines, and is offering two tickets to one of
its anniversary celebrations in return for the oldest
unopened bottle it finds.
Pokolbin Dry Red Private Bin became one of the
premium reds of Australia in the 1950s and 60s, and the
label was resurrected in 2005. Tulloch is now working on
a super-premium series, the G Series, which will sit above
its Limited Release range and will be very small runs of
wines that reflect the different generations of the Tulloch
family who work in the business.
Christina Tulloch said retailers should get to know their
audience and make sure their approach was tailored to
the audience. “One size fits all has been a strategy driven
by the large corporate producers and I don’t believe it
works and I don’t believe it is what customers want.
Customers want authenticity and a buying experience that
is easy, competitive and enjoyable. I believe all retailers
can deliver this whether big, small or national. Know
your market niche and work hard at promoting it. I’m
also a retailer with what we do at cellar door so I have to
keep reminding myself of the same thing.”
Tulloch said it was paramount that Australians support
family-owned Australian companies if they were to
continue for generations to come. “People often remark
how lucky I am to have been born into a wine family.
They are of course right. But I also feel the weight of
responsibility in ensuring this legacy continues to endure
so I too can pass it along to a new generation.”